# Three Minute Mysteries Part III

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 29, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379 "2000-03-29T19:00:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379/121 "2000-03-31T05:52:00Z")

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Did the man die of suffocation?  
Did the man die of decapitation?  
Did the man die of a broken neck? (I mean hanging can kill you one of three ways. Just hadda know.)  
Are the wooden discs larger than 12" in diameter?

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**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379/122 "2000-03-31T06:27:00Z")

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_Did the man die of suffocation?  
Did the man die of decapitation?  
Did the man die of a broken neck?_

Irrelevant. What’s relevant is that it was self-inflicted. Though, given that it was an amateur hanging, one would assume suffocation.

_Are the wooden discs larger than 12" in diameter?_

No.

* * *

_Eschew Obfuscation_

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**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379/123 "2000-03-31T16:47:00Z")

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I think I know part of it.

The wooden disks were sawn off the bottom of the cot legs (or a chair) to make it shorter than the person thought it was. So rather than being the right height to support him, it was too short and he hung.

Now why would you be fooling around with that kind of tolerance? Was he a stage magician?

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**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2000, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379/124 "2000-04-01T01:12:00Z")

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_The wooden disks were sawn off the bottom of the cot legs (or a chair) to make it shorter than the person thought it was. So rather than being the right height to support him, it was too short and he hung._

No. Maybe I wasn’t clear - he hanged himself intentionally.

_Now why would you be fooling around with that kind of tolerance? Was he a stage magician?_

No.

* * *

_Eschew Obfuscation_

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2000, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-minute-mysteries-part-iii/15379/125 "2000-04-01T01:19:00Z")

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Just so you know… I am reading this… but must again recuse myself because I know this one, too. 🙂

- Rick

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